Young country girl Laura Timmins leaves her friends and family in the hamlet of Lark Rise to start her first job at the post office in nearby town Candleford.

Postwoman Mrs Macey receives news that her husband Dan has escaped from prison. Before long the whole town is alight with gossip, and Mrs Macey fears that the damage to her reputation will force her to leave Candleford.

Dorcas helps a workhouse girl find work, sparking village gossip and rivalry between the Amoses; the residents of Lark Rise celebrate 200 years of Midwinter family rule, with Lady Adelaide reluctant until Dorcas is asked to step in.

A strange old man arrives in Candleford looking for his estranged daughters, Ruby and Pearl Pratt. Horrified to see him out in public, playing scams on the local residents, the girls must decide whether they can forgive him for deserting them.

Dorcas is thrown by the surprise arrival of a new Post Office inspector, Mr Rushton, who unearths anomalies in the way Dorcas runs the Post Office. Robert has been carving a decorative angel on the schoolhouse for which he is not getting paid.

Robert takes pity on a homeless family and brings them to stay at his house for the night. In the morning the family has departed, leaving their little daughter Polly behind.